BEIJING—Reuters has obtained Zhao Ziyang's memoirs, which were secretly taped while he lived under house arrest after his ousting in 1989 as China's Communist Party chief for opposing the military crackdown on the Tiananmen protests.
Following are excerpts which were transcribed and translated into English. The full text will be published this month in the book "Prisoner of the State", ahead of the 20th anniversary of the massacre on June 4, and four years after his death.
On the Tiananmen Square massacre
"On the night of June 3rd, while sitting in the courtyard with my family, I heard intense gunfire. A tragedy to shock the world had not been averted, and was happening after all ... "
"First, it was determined then that the student movement was a planned conspiracy of anti-Party, anti-socialist elements with leadership. So now we must ask, who were these leaders? What was the plan? What was the conspiracy? What evidence exists to support this? It was also said that there were black hands within the Party. Then who were they?"
"Second, it was said that this event was aimed at overthrowing the People's Republic and the Communist Party. Where is the evidence? I had said at the time that most people were only asking us to correct our flaws, not attempting to overthrow our political system."
On the western parliamentary system
"... it is the Western parliamentary democratic system that has demonstrated the most vitality. This system is currently the best one available. It is able to manifest the spirit of democracy and meet the demands of a modern society ..."
"If a country wishes to modernise, not only should it implement a market economy, it must also adopt a parliamentary democracy as its political system. Otherwise, this nation will not be able to have a market economy that is healthy and modern, nor can it become a modern society with a rule of law."
On political reform
"If we don't move toward this goal, it will be impossible to resolve the abnormal conditions in China's market economy: issues such as an unhealthy market, profiting from power, rampant social corruption and a widening gap between rich and poor. Nor will the rule of law ever materialise."
"If the final destination is a parliamentary democracy, the ruling Party must achieve two breakthroughs. One is to allow other political parties and a free press to exist. This can happen gradually, but it must be pursued. The second breakthrough is having democracy within the Party: that is, the Party needs to adopt democratic procedures and use democratic means to reform itself ... Different opinions must be allowed to exist, and different factions should be made legitimate."
Comments on the memoirs
Foreward by Roderick MacFarquhar,Harvard professor
Reading Zhao's unadorned and unboastful account of his stewardship, it becomes apparent that it was he rather than Deng (Xiaoping) who was the actual architect of reform. It was Zhao who, after countless inspection tours, finally realised that the commitment to rural collectivisation, reaffirmed when Deng came back to power in December 1978, was passe, and who threw his support for a national household responsibility system as the way to develop agriculture and raise farm incomes. As Zhao acknowledges, without Deng's support it would never have been possible to proceed. But Deng did not make the conceptual breakthrough. Zhao did.
Preface by Adi Ignatius, Harvard Business Review editor in chief
It is the first time that a leader of Zhao's stature in China has spoken frankly about life at the top. He provides an intimate look at one of the world's most opaque regimes. We learn about the triumphs and failures, the boasts and insecurities, of the man who tried to bring liberal change to China, and who made every effort to stop the Tiananmen Massacre.
This is Zhao's version of history, and he perhaps was making his arguments for a future generation of leaders who may revisit his case and decide whether he should be rehabilitated in the memory of the Party, and the nation.
Although Zhao now speaks from the grave, his voice has the moral power to make China sit up and listen.
Epilogue by Bao Pu, son of Zhao's former top aide
Zhao Ziyang had no interest in being a visionary. He was a pragmatist who wanted to solve real problems. He led his country through confusion and chaos and made difficult choices for the sake of improving the lives of others. He did his duty. His legacy, recorded here, will ensure he does not fade from history.
The book will almost certainly be banned in China.
